Tag Archives: outreach

Come learn more about volunteering with us! Led by Cyndee Clay (Executive Director), Elizabeth Saracco (Director of Programs), and JD Rosario (Peer Education Program Manager) this orientation is a Sex Work and Harm Reduction 101!

After you’ve completed the orientation, you will be invited to the Outreach Volunteer Training (November 6-7 10 A.M. to 5 P.M.). Outreach Volunteers hit the streets Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 11 P.M. to 5 A.M. to do harm reduction counseling and support sex workers.

Hi DCTC members, friends and supporters! There’s been a whole lot going on for us lately, and we’d like to update everyone about what we’re doing. Here’s a quick summary, and you can read on for more. If any of these sound exciting, we hope to see you at our next organizing meeting.

We’re putting the final touches on an updated version of our Know Your Rights booklets. The new version includes new rights in DC homeless shelters, public schools and jails, information on dealing with police and an expanded list of local resources for trans and gender nonconforming people. If you’d like a copy (or several!), send us an e- mail at dctranscoalition@gmail.com or call 202.557.1951. Soon, you will also be able to download a pdf on the website.

We are also finishing up a new presentation to educate trans/GNC people about our rights in the District. We’ll be meeting with a group of gender nonconforming youth next month, and we’d love to do more! If you have friends, support groups or organizations you’d like us to talk to or give a workshop for, let us know and we’ll set something up.

—————————————————————-

2. Launching Health Care Survey & Access Campaign

Thanks to the success of our survey on gender-segregated spaces, we’d like to initiate another survey for our community. This time, we’ll be focusing on the issue of trans and gender nonconforming people’s access to health care. We already know that our community faces huge barriers to appropriate care, but we’d like to know more. Do doctors or nurses mess up your pronouns? Do other clients harass you? Do you have trouble getting on health insurance? Can you find a clinic within reasonable distance that will see you? Does your insurance pay for hormones? These are some of the things we want to know!

We’re going to start working on the surveys soon, and would love to have input. If there are questions you think we should include, let us know! We plan on developing two: one for providers, and one for (trans/GNC) clients. The goal is to educate providers about trans people’s needs so that they can serve us better, and to learn what our community needs most so we can work on increasing our access to public benefits and health care. Keep an eye out for our survey, and expect to hear more from us about health care coverage soon.

—————————————————————-

3. Efforts to Improve Bathroom Safety Gaining Momentum

Our Bathroom Access and Safety Campaign is continuing to grow. We have collected over 180 instances of gender-specific single occupancy restrooms that are not in compliance with the Human Rights Law. Please, keep sending them to [UPDATE] the DC Office of Human Rights! Submit the name and address of the establishment, and whether or not their bathrooms are in compliance using this web form or tweet that info (ideally with a photo) with the hashtag #safebathroomsDC. For more info, check out our website.

The “Pee in Peace” rally on the 25th of last month was a huge success. About forty people showed up, and we dispersed to investigate the local bathroom situation, helping us gather non-compliant establishments and raise awareness about trans/GNC people’s safety in public bathrooms. Several media outlets have covered the campaign, including local news, a cover story in the Washington Blade and national blogs like Pam’s House Blend. Also check out our op-ed in the Blade.

Just today, the Washington City Paper has a slightly more sensational article about gendered bathrooms in DC. Be sure to check out some of DCTC member’s comments about the article on the online version of the story and look for an upcoming letter to the editor, as we’d like to clarify a few things about our campaign for City Paper’s readers.

—————————————————————-

4. Fighting the Effects of the Budget Crisis on DC’s Trans Community

As we recently announced, the City Council is cutting major funds to services for low income people, and the trans/GNC community is being especially hard hit. Check out this article over at the Blade about the effect this funding loss will have on DC’s homeless trans communities.

We’ve been busy writing letters, but sadly it looks like now we need to start working on ways to raise funds for groups that are in danger, especially Transgender Health Empowerment. THE has organized two upcoming fundraisers that we strongly urge everyone to attend! We’ll be letting you know about other opportunities to donate to organizations that work hard to provide crucial services.

Verna Moda True Fashion Show
Sunday, August 23rd, 3:00pm @ Zigfields 1824 Half Street SW
Special Appearance by Frenchie Davis
$20 in advance, $25 at the door.
For more info or to buy a ticket, call 202.636.1646 ex.109.

It’s been about two years since DCTC successfully pressured the Metropolitan Police Department to release it’s “handling procedure” for dealing with the trans community, and we’re still worried about how it’s being implemented on the streets. Early next month, we will be meeting with the transgender support group at HIPS to discuss ways to hold the police accountable. Bret Parsons from the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit will be present for part of the meeting and will share MPD’s training material on trans sensitivity for us to review and comment. PLEASE NOTE: this meeting is only open to trans people. If you’d like to attend, e-mail us for the date, directions and more info.

Finally, we’re also starting a campaign to make it easier for trans people who were born in DC to change the sex listed on their birth certificates to match their actual sex/gender. Right now, the statute requires us to have expensive surgeries that are impractical or not desired by many in our community. Stay tuned for more updates!

Hi DCTC members, friends and supporters! There’s been a whole lot
going on for us lately, and we’d like to update everyone about what
we’re doing. Here’s a quick summary, and you can read on for more. If
any of these sound exciting, we hope to see you at our next organizing
meeting. See our website (dctranscoalition.org) for more info.
1. New Know Your Rights Material Released
2. Launching Health Care Survey & Access Campaign
3. Efforts to Improve Bathroom Safety Gaining Momentum
4. Fighting the Effects of the Budget Crisis on DC’s Trans Community
5. Continuing to Combat Police Harassment and Brutality
6. Beginning Efforts to Ease the Process for Amending Sex-Designations
on DC Birth Certificates—————————————————————-

1. New Know Your Rights Material Released

We’re putting the final touches on an updated version of our Know Your
Rights booklets. The new version includes new rights in DC homeless
shelters, public schools and jails, information on dealing with police
and an expanded list of local resources for trans and gender
nonconforming people. If you’d like a copy (or several!), send us an e-
mail at dctranscoalit…@gmail.com or call 202.557.1951. Soon, you
will also be able to download a pdf on the website.

We are also finishing up a new presentation to educate trans/GNC
people about our rights in the District. We’ll be meeting with a group
of gender nonconforming youth next month, and we’d love to do more! If
you have friends, support groups or organizations you’d like us to
talk to or give a workshop for, let us know and we’ll set something
up.

—————————————————————-

2. Launching Health Care Survey & Access Campaign

Thanks to the success of our survey on gender-segregated spaces, we’d
like to initiate another survey for our community. This time, we’ll be
focusing on the issue of trans and gender nonconforming people’s
access to health care. We already know that our community faces huge
barriers to appropriate care, but we’d like to know more. Do doctors
or nurses mess up your pronouns? Do other clients harass you? Do you
have trouble getting on health insurance? Can you find a clinic within
reasonable distance that will see you? Does your insurance pay for
hormones? These are some of the things we want to know!

We’re going to start working on the surveys soon, and would love to
have input. If there are questions you think we should include, let us
know! We plan on developing two: one for providers, and one for (trans/
GNC) clients. The goal is to educate providers about trans people’s
needs so that they can serve us better, and to learn what our
community needs most so we can work on increasing our access to public
benefits and health care. Keep an eye out for our survey, and expect
to hear more from us about health care coverage soon.

—————————————————————-

3. Efforts to Improve Bathroom Safety Gaining Momentum

Our Bathroom Access and Safety Campaign is continuing to grow. We have
collected over 180 instances of gender-specific single occupancy
restrooms that are not in compliance with the Human Rights Law.
Please, keep sending them to us! Remember to e-mail
DCTCBathro…@gmail.com with the name and address of the
establishment, the date you were there, and whether or not their
bathrooms are in compliance. For more info, check out our website.

Just today, the Washington City Paper has a slightly more sensational
article about gendered bathrooms in DC [http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/sexist/2009/08/12/dc-bathroo…
]. Be sure to check out some of DCTC member’s comments about the
article on the online version of the story and look for an upcoming
letter to the editor, as we’d like to clarify a few things about our
campaign for City Paper’s readers.

—————————————————————-

4. Fighting the Effects of the Budget Crisis on DC’s Trans Community

As we recently announced, the City Council is cutting major funds to
services for low income people, and the trans/GNC community is being
especially hard hit. We’ve been busy writing letters, but sadly it
looks like now we need to start working on ways to raise funds for
groups that are in danger, especially Transgender Health Empowerment.
THE has organized two upcoming fundraisers that we strongly urge
everyone to attend! We’ll be letting you know about other
opportunities to donate to organizations that work hard to provide
crucial services.

Verno Moda True Fashion Show
Sunday, August 23rd, 3:00pm @ Zigfields 1824 Half Street SW
Special Appearance by Frenchie Davis
$20 in advance, $25 at the door.
For more info or to buy a ticket, call 202.636.1646 ex.109.

It’s been about two years since DCTC successfully pressured the
Metropolitan Police Department to release it’s “handling procedure”
for dealing with the trans community, and we’re still worried about
how it’s being implemented on the streets. Early next month, we will
be meeting with the transgender support group at HIPS to discuss ways
to hold the police accountable. Bret Parsons from the Gay and Lesbian
Liaison Unit will be present for part of the meeting and will share
MPD’s training material on trans sensitivity for us to review and
comment. PLEASE NOTE: this meeting is only open to trans people. If
you’d like to attend, e-mail us for the date, directions and more
info.

Finally, we’re also starting a campaign to make it easier for trans
people who were born in DC to change the sex listed on their birth
certificates to match their actual sex/gender. Right now, the statute
requires us to have expensive surgeries that are impractical or not
desired by many in our community. Stay tuned for more updates!

Join DCTC, the trans community and our allies THIS Saturday, July 25th at 2:00PM at the intersection of 18th and Columbia Sts NW in Adam’s Morgan. We will be holding a public rally in support of bathroom access and safety for ALL DC residents!

While transphobic bigots spread fear and panic about trans people in public bathrooms, *we* are the ones who are regularly denied access, harassed and attacked just for trying to pee. Join with us to tell local businesses to let us pee in peace! We will briefly rally and then disperse to make sure that the area’s restrooms are in compliance with the DC Human Rights Law’s provisions to ensure accessibility for trans and gender nonconforming people.

To learn more about our campaign to promote enforcement of the Human Rights Law and how you can help, check out our website (www.dctranscoalition.org) and click on the heading “campaigns.” Hope to see you Saturday, and don’t forget to bring lots of friends!

DCTC will have a wonderfully fun table at the Capital Pride Festival this Sunday. Be sure to stop by to check out what we’ve been up to, pick up one of our Know Your Rights brochures, and snag one of our snazzy new buttons. We’ll be there all day! Location: Pennsylvania Avenue NW at 7th Street. Date: Sunday, June 14, 11am-6pm.

Come on out, enjoy the sunshine, and help the DC Trans Coalition’s campaign to Correct the Department of Corrections! So far we’ve had two very successful outreaches at Youth Pride and Black Pride, but we could still use your help for Trans Pride and Capital Pride.

We’re asking folks to sign our petition and getting the word out about the campaign. Shifts are 1-2 hours, but if you want more we’re happy to have as much of your time as you’re willing to give!